Department of Health and Social Care

Radiotherapy

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofregional inequalities in access to molecular radiotherapy services; and what plans they have to reduce inequalities in access to thoseservices.

Lord Markham: Based on information provided by National Health Service trusts, there are 38 providers of this service in England, spread across each of the seven NHS regions.As part of the implementation process of the new standalone service specification for magnetic resonance therapy (MRT), which is expected from April 2024, work will be undertaken to confirm the nature and type of MRT services being provided by trusts and allow for access considerations to be taken into account.

Radiotherapy

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans (1) they have made, and (2) are already in progress, to expand molecular radiotherapy service capacity.

Lord Markham: NHS England commissions treatments that have either been approved via the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence technology appraisal process or NHS England’s clinical commissioning development process. Service provision will normally be reviewed at the point that new treatments are approved through either of these two routes.Where additional capacity is required to meet demand, this will be put in place. Developers of new medicines can apply to the Early Access to Medicines Scheme, Project Orbis or The Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway to accelerate the time to market for new products.In relation to molecular radiotherapy, linked to the implementation of the new service specification, NHS England will be undertaking an assessment of service readiness to implement new technologies.

Radiotherapy

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government whenthe revised service specification for molecular radiotherapy is expected to be implemented by NHS England.

Lord Markham: The current published Brachytherapy and Molecular Radiotherapy Service Specification is expected to be replaced from April 2024 with standalone service specifications covering Brachytherapy and Molecular Radiotherapy.

Video Games: Children and Young People

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government how many children and young people were being treated by the NHS for addiction to video games or gaming disorder annually from 2015 to 2022.

Lord Markham: The National Centre for Gaming Disorders, providing treatment for people aged between 13 and 25 experiencing problem gaming in England, opened in October 2019. The following table shows the total number of annual referrals since the service became operational. The specific data requested is collected by the service provider to inform service delivery. This data is not subject to National Health Service quality assurance protocol and is therefore unsuitable for publication.YearNumber of referrals of people aged 13 – 25 experiencing problems with gaming2019 (October to Dec only)122020 (Full year)622021 (Full year)992022 (Full year)1482023 (January to August only)121Total442Source: NHSE - National Centre for Gaming Disorders

Respiratory Diseases: Intensive Care

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 16 October (HL10484), what was the basis for setting the number of intensive care bays catered for in their current strategic reserve of intensive care unit equipment at 1,000; and how that figure relates to (1) the current number of 383 adult critical care beds across NHS England trusts and (2) the peak of 4,500 COVID-19 patients receiving critical care.

Lord Markham: During winter 2022/23, the COVID Strategic Intensive Care Unit Reserve had a core holding equivalent to supporting 3,000 intensive care bays for up to six weeks, a level consistent with the demand peak of January 2021. Between October 2022 and March 2023, the number of COVID-19 patients requiring mechanical ventilation peaked at 232 and the National Health Service did not require additional equipment from the reserve to meet this demand. The current holding of 1,000 bays is sufficient to meet the demand seen across the last two winters and enables excess holdings to be disposed of ahead of the closure of the reserve in March 2024.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty

Lord Strathcarron: To ask His Majesty's Government what are their specific reasons for planning to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius; and what assessment they have made of China’s intentions for the Chagos Islands given their relationship with Mauritius.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK and Mauritius have reiterated that any agreement between our two countries will ensure the continued effective operation of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, which plays a vital role in regional and global security. The UK will only enter into an agreement that protects our national interests and those of our partners, including from any malign actors in the Indian Ocean.

Ethiopia: Armed Conflict

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to encourage the government of Ethiopia to (1) pursue talks with Amhara’s armed militia in order to end the current violence in the region, and (2) set up a dialogue with the various regional factions in Ethiopia to address their disputes in order to avoid a new conflict.

Lord Benyon: The UK regularly raises the need for dialogue and political solution to all Ethiopia's conflicts. On 11 August, the British Embassy Addis Ababa coordinated a statement with US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, condemning the violence in Amhara. Since the outbreak of conflict His Majesty's Ambassador to Ethiopia has reiterated this message to the Regional President of Amhara and senior government representatives and offered UK support for talks. The UK supports political and regional dialogue initiatives across Ethiopia, with a particular focus on the participation of women and women's organisations and the objective of contributing to a more inclusive National Dialogue process.

Religious Freedom: Employment

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Religious Freedom and Business corporation, in cooperation with the APPG for International Freedom of Religion or Belief,Building Freedom of Religion or Belief Through Faith-And-Belief Friendly Workplaces: A Call to Action, published on 20 November.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government notes the report by the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation, in cooperation with the APPG for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, Building Freedom of Religion or Belief Through Faith-And-Belief Friendly Workplaces: A Call to Action, published on 20 November.Promoting the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. As well as championing FoRB, we have consistently supported the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on business and human rights, which are widely regarded as the authoritative international framework to steer practical action by Governments and businesses worldwide on this important agenda.The Government is clear that it expects all UK businesses to respect human rights, including FoRB, throughout their operations, in line with the UNGPs.

Sudan: War Crimes

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of reports of atrocities, including ethnic cleansing and gender-based violence against women, across Sudan in recent months.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has consistently denounced all human rights violations that have taken place since the military coup on 25 October 2021, including the escalation in incidents since 15 April 2023. We condemn the ongoing attacks on innocent civilians by militias, particularly the Rapid Support Forces; this violence has all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing. The UK, alongside the Troika (US & Norway), issued a joint statement on 17 November condemning the reported mass killings including ethnic targeting of non-Arab and other communities, killings of traditional leaders, unjust detentions, and obstruction of humanitarian aid. We continue to denounce conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) in Sudan including at the UN Human Rights Council and Security Council, and in a joint statement in July, alongside 15 other members, by the International Alliance on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. The UK has enhanced its atrocity risk monitoring, including the monitoring of CRSV. The October UN Human Rights Council adopted the UK-led 'Sudan Core Group' resolution to establish a Fact-Finding Mission to ensure that credible allegations of human rights investigated impartially to support future accountability efforts.

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands: Seas and Oceans

Lord Cameron of Dillington: To ask His Majesty's Government whether existing management measures in place for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are sufficient to protect that marine ecosystem.

Lord Benyon: The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) is currently undertaking the second 5-year review of its Marine Protected Area (MPA). The review is considering the effectiveness of the current MPA measures, including whether the underpinning scientific research and monitoring is sufficient, particularly in light of climate change, and whether effective monitoring and surveillance capacity is in place. The review will determine whether additional measures are required to achieve the stated MPA objectives. GSGSSI is committed to reporting on its review by early next year.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Forests: Supply Chains

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce deforestation and other environmental impacts of commercial supply chains in the light of evidence indicating that they result in (1) the spread of infectious disease, and (2) the proliferation of antimicrobial resistance.

Lord Benyon: The Government has introduced world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Act to help tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. We ran a consultation from 3 December 2021 to 11 March 2022 to seek views on the details of regulations that will implement the Environment Act provisions, to ensure that these are designed effectively. The Government published a summary of responses to this consultation on 1 June 2022 and is committed to implementing due diligence provisions at the earliest opportunity through secondary legislation. The Government has funded the development of the Global Environmental Impacts of Consumption indicator, to better understand the deforestation and other environmental impacts of supply chains. This does not include impacts related directly to infectious disease and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), but does cover biodiversity loss, water stress and a range of other impact types. The UK is leading the way in the world’s fight against antimicrobial resistance, both at home and abroad. Our five-year national action plan for AMR, published in 2019, sets out our comprehensive One Health approach, acting across humans, animals, food and the environment. We are currently developing the next five-year national action plan on AMR, which is expected to be published in 2024 and run until 2029.

Fly Tipping: CCTV

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of CCTV in addressing fly tipping hotspots.

Lord Benyon: Across two rounds of our fly-tipping grant scheme, we have awarded nearly £1.2 million to help more than 30 councils purchase equipment, such as CCTV, to tackle fly-tipping at known hot-spots. Round one has seen good results; for example, Durham County Council has seen a reduction in fly-tipping of over 60% in the areas where CCTV was installed onto existing lighting columns. A selection of case studies from round one, including for Durham Country Council and other projects utilising CCTV, have been published so that others can learn about those interventions which were most successful. These are available at Keep Britain Tidy’s website. Round two case studies will be made available in due course and we have recently launched a third round that could see a further £1 million handed out in grants next year to help even more councils tackle the issue.

Fly-tipping and Litter: Fines

Baroness O'Neill of Bexley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of devolving fine-setting powers for fly-tipping and littering offences to local authorities.

Lord Benyon: Fixed penalties provide local authorities with an effective and visible way of quickly responding to environmental crimes, where prosecution may not be proportionate. Local authorities must set fixed penalties for litter and fly-tipping from within ranges specified in law. If a penalty level is not set by the authority then a default penalty level will apply. We believe local authorities are best placed to select the appropriate level, to ensure it reflects local circumstances such as ability to pay. This flexibility is consistent with the responses we received to the consultation on introducing fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping. Under the Prime Minister’s Antisocial Behaviour Action Plan, the first local authority fly-tipping enforcement league tables were published in August 2023. These show which councils are making good use of their powers to issue fixed penalties, encouraging both scrutiny and the sharing of best practice.

Home Office

Police: Biometrics

Lord Strasburger: To ask His Majesty's Government whether police forces can usefacial recognition technology to search against photographs from (1) the passport database, (2) the EU Settled Status database, and (3) the Driver and Vehicle LicensingAgency database, to identify people suspected of offences.

Lord Strasburger: To ask His Majesty's Government whatthresholdapplies before police can conduct facial recognition searches against (1) the passport database, (2) the EU Settled Status database, or (3) the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agencydatabase, in the course of their investigations.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Police forces can currently request facial recognition searches against the passport database on a limited basis in support of the most serious law enforcement investigations.No facial recognition searches are currently carried out against the EU Settled Status and Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency databases in the course of police investigations to identify people suspected of offences.

Asylum: Children

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government howmany unaccompanied children seeking asylum are being accommodated in hotels before they are placed with a local authority.

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied children seeking asylum who have been placed in hotels awaiting placement to a local authority have gone missing for more than a week in the last six months; and of those, how many are still missing.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured.

Asylum

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with governments of countries other than Rwanda about the transfer of asylum seekers.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: We are unable to comment on discussions or negotiations that may be being held with other countries.

Asylum: Bibby Stockholm

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government how many asylum seekers are currently housed on the Bibby Stockholm; and for how long they intend for asylum seekers to be housed there.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The capacity of the Bibby Stockholm is around 500 people. The number of asylum seekers onboard the vessel at any one time is likely to vary due to a number of factors.Numbers will increase in a phased approach as part of a carefully structured plan. We are conscious of the need to manage arrivals in a way that local services can support.We are assessing how long asylum seekers will be accommodated. The maximum expected length of stay on the vessel is likely to be up to 9 months. This will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Asylum: Rwanda

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the proposed treaty with Rwanda, announced on 15 November, will be subject toparliamentary scrutiny in accordance withthe provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Treaties the Government wishes to ratify are subject to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. We will set out further details in due course.

Corruption

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of corruption, in particular money laundering, in the UK,and the scale of involvement of law firms, global corporations and banks in such crime; what steps they are taking to address corruption; and whether they support proposals to establish an international anti-corruption court.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: There is widespread international agreement that reliably measuring the scale of corruption or corrupt proceeds presents a significant challenge. The National Crime Agency assesses that it is a realistic possibility that over £100 billion is laundered through and within the UK or UK registered corporate structures each year using high end money laundering methods, with cash-based money laundering highly likely to be over £12 billion each year. However, it is not currently possible to identify the proportion of these laundered amounts which involve corruption.Despite challenges identifying overall scale, we have advanced our understanding of the nature of corruption and money laundering including the role of professional enablers.The Economic Crime Plan (2023-26) sets out ambitious reforms to reduce money laundering and recover more criminal assets; combat kleptocracy and drive down sanctions evasion; and cut fraud. This is supported by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and will be complemented by a new UK Anti-Corruption Strategy, which is currently under development. This will outline the UK response to strengthen resilience against corruption in the UK and internationally and build on the progress made by the UK Anti-Corruption Strategy (2017-22).This government is fully committed to ensuring that all corrupt actors are held to account, including those responsible for the most egregious acts of corruption. We have considered the idea of an International Anti-Corruption Court, including with 40 international partners in November last year, and have concluded that now is not the time to endorse a new, bespoke institution of this nature.

Children and Young People: Self-harm

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government how many reported instances there are ofviolence or self-harm linked tovideo gamingin children and young people.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office does not hold information on the number of reported instances of violence or self-harm linked to video gaming in children and young people.However, the Government takes this issue extremely seriously and is introducing a new offence through the Online Safety Act to make communications which encourage or assist self-harm illegal. This will protect people of all ages from this harmful content.Equivalent provisions are set out in the Criminal Justice Bill currently making its way through Parliament, which create the same prohibitions offline.

Cabinet Office

Property: Databases

Lord Allan of Hallam: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the effectiveness of measures to encourage the adoption of Unique Property Reference Numbers in government databases.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) in the Cabinet Office does not undertake a central assessment of measures to encourage adoption of Unique Property Reference Numbers (UPRN) in government databases. Deployment and adherence to policies and standards is ultimately the responsibility of individual organisations.CDDO currently has arrangements in place to increase adoption of data standards such as UPRNs. This includes the Data Standards Authority (DSA) and the Technology Code of Practice.The DSA coordinates cross-government work to specify standards for government data systems and the DSA-endorsed UPRNs as an open standard in 2020. The Technology Code of Practice is used by the Cabinet Office Spend Controls assurance process; departments are required to appraise the use of open data standards such as UPRNs when they build or buy technology.The Geospatial Commission, now part of the Department for Science Innovation and Technology and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, continues to promote the mandated adoption of UPRNs across the public sector.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Research: Migrant Workers

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Viscount Camrose on 20 November (HL Deb col 594), what percentage of people working in research and development (R&D)are expected to be recruited from overseas by 2027; and what immigration constraints apply to those seeking to work in the R&D sector in the UK.

Viscount Camrose: The Government does not hold any data on or set a specific target for the percentage of R&D talent it expects to have recruited from abroad by 2027. The Government’s immigration policy applies to R&D talent wanting to locate to the UK. The Government aims to improve the UK’s attractiveness to overseas R&D talent, subject to meeting wider objectives on overall net migration to the UK.The UK’s points-based immigration system continues to work well. For example, the Global Talent visa has seen a 76% increase in visas issued for the year ending June 2023.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Telegram

Lord Allan of Hallam: To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings andcorrespondence they have had with the messaging service Telegram since 1 January.

Viscount Camrose: Officials met representatives of the messaging service Telegram on 26 July 2023 to discuss end-to-end encryption measures during the passage of the Online Safety Bill.

Voice over Internet Protocol

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Camrose on 3 April (HL6992), whether the incumbent operator in each area have informed consumers that before committing to a new two year full fibre service contract with them they can research other full fibre options available to them in their area.

Viscount Camrose: The Government has strengthened Ofcom’s consumer protection rules to ensure consumers have the right level of information to make informed decisions.As part of this, in February 2020, Ofcom brought in rules requiring communication providers to send a notification to customers nearing the end of their contract, encouraging them to get a new contract. These rules also require providers to send an annual notification for their consumers who are-out-contract, setting out the provider’s best available deals to the consumer.Within the end-of-contract notification, providers must inform customers of the precise date their contract expires; notice periods should they wish to leave; the best offer available for renewal as well as the price they will pay if they take no action. Providers are not required to advise consumers if competitor services are present in their local area.Ofcom are responsible for monitoring provider compliance with end-of-contract notification regulations, and recently took action against a provider who failed to issue information to their customers. Using the information contained within their end-of-contract notification, customers can find out what providers operate in their area using Ofcom’s broadband checker. Customers are also able to use one of the Ofcom accredited price comparison sites to see what offers they can access and how they compare to the best deal offered by their current provider.

Ministry of Justice

Legal Opinion

Lord Anderson of Ipswich: To ask His Majesty's Government what rules, guidance or conventions they consider to be applicable to the provision of professional legal services, including advocacy, legal representation and the giving of legal advice, by retired UK judges.

Lord Anderson of Ipswich: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the policy report by Patrick O’Brien and Ben Yong, Work in Judicial Retirement, published in June.

Lord Bellamy: There is a longstanding convention that prohibits former holders of salaried judicial office from returning to private legal practice. This is reflected in the terms and conditions of service which apply on appointment to judicial office, which state that candidates accept appointment on the understanding that it is “intended for the remainder of a person’s professional life” and that “following termination of their appointment they will not return to private practice as a barrister or a solicitor".The Government has noted the report, “Work in Judicial Retirement”, which relates to judges in the High Court and above and the longstanding convention prohibiting salaried judges from returning to legal practice. The Government has also noted the evidence of Lord Burnett, the then Lord Chief Justice, to the Justice Select Committee in 2018, that the convention “is part and parcel of ensuring, and always has been, that the standing of our judiciary is very high indeed.”

Homicide: Sentencing

Baroness Morgan of Cotes: To ask His Majesty's Government when the Ministry of Justice plans to publish a consultation on sentencing for murders committed in domestic settings, in particular (1) consulting on increasing the tariff from 15 to 25 years, and (2) consulting on the perpetrator’s hands being treated as weapons.

Lord Bellamy: On Monday 27 November, the Government launched a public consultation on a minimum term starting point in sentencing for (i) murders preceded by controlling or coercive behaviour against the murder victim, and (ii) all murders committed using a knife or other weapon. The consultation will close on 4 March 2024. The consultation can be found here.

Parenting Orders

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington: To ask His Majesty's Government how many Parental Orders were granted throughthe Family Courts in England and Wales about the number of children conceived through surrogacy using the surrogate mother's own egg in(1) 2017, (2) 2018, (3) 2019, (4) 2020, (5) 2021, and (6) 2022.

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington: To ask His Majesty's Government how many Parental Orders were granted to couples in England and Wales bringing a child in to this country conceived and carried through a commercial surrogacy arrangement abroad in (1) 2017, (2) 2018, (3) 2019, (4) 2020, (5) 2021, and (6) 2022.

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total number of Parental Orders granted for surrogacy arrangements in England and Wales in (1) 2017, (2) 2018, (3) 2019, (4) 2020, (5) 2021, and (6) 2022.

Lord Bellamy: The number of Parental Orders granted where children were conceived through surrogacy using the surrogate mother’s own egg is not recorded centrally.The number of Parental Orders granted to couples bringing a child in to England and Wales where the child was conceived and carried through a commercial surrogacy arrangement abroad is not recorded centrally.Such information could only be obtained through individual analysis of court files, at disproportionate cost.The total number of Parental Orders granted for surrogacy arrangements in England and Wales between 2017 and 2022 can be found in the table below.Table 1: Number of total Parental Orders made in Public and Private Law (Children Act) in the Family Courts, England and WalesYearTotal201733220183752019445202042520214372022449Source: Family Court Statistics QuarterlyNotes:1) These orders relate to surrogacy and are made under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act.2) Please note the 2022 figure only includes Private Law as figures for Public Law are currently unavailable whilst Family Public Law undergoes reform.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

British Library: Cybercrime

Lord Freyberg: To ask His Majesty's Government (1) what steps they will take, and (2) what resources they will deploy, toassist academics dependent on the British Library for their research and scholarly activities after the recent ransomware attack.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Staff at the British Library are working hard to provide researchers, as far as possible, with alternative means to access the material they need during this period of disruption. The Library’s physical sites remain open to the public and are offering a range of services, including access to the reading room for personal study, some limited ordering of items for manual collection, exhibitions, learning events, business support, and on-site retail. Reference services and curatorial staff are working with individual researchers and academics to support specific enquiries as far as possible including, where appropriate, by directing them to other sources of research material held by other libraries and knowledge institutions. Details of what the public can access are available via the British Library’s social media channels.

Cultural Heritage: Cybersecurity

Lord Freyberg: To ask His Majesty's Government how they can facilitate information sharing and co-operation between intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and cultural institutions like the British Library to enhance collective cybersecurity efforts and response capabilities.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The central aim of the Government Cyber Security Strategy is to ensure Government’s critical functions are strengthened against cyber attack by 2025, and that all Government organisations across the public sector are resilient to known vulnerabilities and attack methods by 2030. One of the two core pillars of this strategy is ‘Defend as One’, which focuses on Government organisations sharing cyber security data, expertise, and capabilities to present a defensive force more powerful than the sum of its parts. Since the strategy was first introduced in 2022, ensuring a more co-operative approach to security and intelligence has been a priority.The British Library is undertaking a forensic investigation of this incident, with the support of the National Cyber Security Centre and cyber security specialists, and has reported it to the Information Commissioner’s Office. This investigation will help to provide a full picture of what happened, and the extent of disruption caused. This will take time, during which the British Library is liaising closely with the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and others to provide updates.As the sponsor Department for the British Library, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will continue to work closely with the Library to enhance its overall cyber resilience and ensure that the targets set out in the Cyber Security Strategy are met.

British Library: Cybersecurity

Lord Freyberg: To ask His Majesty's Government whetherthey will provide financial support to the British Library to recover from the ransomware attack and ensure the restoration of its data and systems.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The British Library is undertaking a forensic investigation of this incident, with the support of the National Cyber Security Centre and cyber security specialists. This investigation will help to provide a full picture of what happened, and the extent of disruption caused. This will take time, during which the British Library is liaising closely with the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and others to provide updates, including on the financial impacts of the attack.

British Library: Cybersecurity

Lord Freyberg: To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) immediate, and (2) long-term, assistance they are providing to the British Library in the aftermath of the recent ransomware attack, to ensure the recovery of compromised data, and the implementation of measures to enhance the Library's cybersecurity resilience.

Lord Freyberg: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they haveto support enhancements to the British Library's digital infrastructure and implement robust security measures to prevent future ransomware attacks.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The British Library is undertaking a forensic investigation of this incident, with the support of the National Cyber Security Centre and cyber security specialists, and has reported it to the Information Commissioner’s Office. This investigation will help to provide a full picture of what happened, and the extent of disruption caused. This will take time, during which the British Library is liaising closely with the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and others to provide updates.The British Library has taken targeted protective measures to ensure the integrity of its systems, including the quarantining of hardware, the resetting of passwords for all staff, and the installation of additional monitoring and detection software across its estate.The central aim of the Government Cyber Security Strategy is to ensure that Government’s critical functions are strengthened against cyber attack by 2025, and that all Government organisations across the public sector are resilient to known vulnerabilities and attack methods by 2030. As the sponsor Department for the British Library, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will continue to work closely with the Library to enhance its overall cyber resilience and ensure these targets are met.

Department for Transport

Driving Tests

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in putting an end to automated bots exploiting the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency driving test booking service by buying up appointments and reselling them at inflated prices, and ensuringa fair and transparent booking system for learner drivers.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is aware that some companies have been using bots or third-party applications to snap up appointments on its public booking service, as soon as they become available, leaving fewer test appointments for genuine learner drivers to purchase directly from the DVSA.These apps or bots are not approved by the DVSA.In January this year, the DVSA changed the terms and conditions for using the booking service to help prevent anyone from selling tests at profit. Since then, the DVSA has issued 192 warnings, 532 suspensions, and closed 438 businesses for misuse of its booking service.To ensure its booking system is used correctly, the DVSA has also:stopped accepting new automatic online registrations to use its tests booking service.stopped accepting any new registrations from companies who do not directly employ a driving instructor.removed registrations not linked to driving instructors.reduced the number of times a driving test appointment can be changed from 10 to the pre-pandemic limit of 6.Following these changes, there has been a significant drop in traffic to these services because the DVSA is successfully identifying and blocking apps or bots. However, these applications are constantly evolving and changing and the DVSA’s work on this is ongoing

Large Goods Vehicles: Accidents

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking toreduce the incidence of HGVs hitting railway bridges.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Department has previously invested £3 million to help create a digital road map developed by Ordnance Survey for SatNavs, which includes information on height and weight restrictions. In addition, the Department works with bridge owners, including Network Rail, to raise driver awareness of, and offer advice on, avoiding low bridges. It has published a suite of documents under ‘Prevention of bridge strikes: a good practice guide’ on the government website.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of thedistribution of electric vehicle charging points in rural areas, by (1) number per (a) area, or (b) village, (2) the number of villages that still lack any such facility, or (3) any other relevant metric.

Lord Davies of Gower: Data on public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, held by the Department for Transport, is sourced from the electric vehicle charging platform Zapmap. Charging devices not recorded on Zapmap are not included and the correct number of charging devices may be higher than recorded in these figures.As of 1 October 2023, there were 3,316 public charging devices in a rural village and dispersed setting in England.There were a further 2,676 charging devices in rural towns, with a total number of 5,992 charging devices in rural areas in England as of 1st October 2023.No further assessment has been made.

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Community First Responders

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) benefits, and (2) risks, associated with deploying drones as first responders; and what steps they will take to ensure the (a) secure, and (b) ethical, use of this technology.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Government recognises the use of drones as first responders can save lives, time and valuable resources for public services. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulate the use of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (drones) to ensure the increased use of drones remains safe and secure. This includes assessing regulation around the appropriate handling of data privacy and assessing associated risks. Additional product requirements laid down in UK (EU) Delegated Regulation 2019/945 will come into effect from 01 January 2026, to introduce Remote ID, geo awareness, lighting and manufacturing standards.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Levelling Up Fund: Northern Ireland

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions and consultations they held with political parties, district councils and civic society in Northern Ireland in advance of their decision to refuse to allocate levelling up monies to the region in their latest funding announcement on 21 November.

Baroness Penn: In the context of the growing pressure on Northern Irish budgets it is right that the United Kingdom Government should consider its approach to funding available for Northern Ireland in the round. £30 million has been reserved for Northern Ireland from Round 3 of the Levelling Up Fund. As part of our commitment to levelling up, we want to work with a restored Executive to find the best approach to supporting people in Northern Ireland, taking account of current budget pressures.DLUHC wrote to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee and the Northern Ireland Civil Service directly to let them know of our approach to Northern Ireland for Round 3 of the Levelling Up Fund. All Northern Ireland MPs were notified by a letter from Minister Young and DLUHC officials contacted relevant Northern Irish stakeholders on the day of the announcement.

Housing: Mould

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number ofchildren living in homes with damp; and the impact of damp and mould on children's health in (1) 2021, and (2) 2022.

Baroness Penn: The department does not collect data on the number of children living in homes affected by damp and mould. We do, however, have the following information which sets out the proportion of households in each tenure with dependent children and the proportion of each tenure affected by damp. The English Housing Survey, at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/english-housing-survey, found that in 2021 – 2022 46% of mortgaged households, 32% of private renters, 33% of social renters and 7% of outright owners had dependent children. In 2021, 11% of privately renters, 4% of social renters and 2% of owner-occupiers had problems with damp.Damp and mould has a serious impact on children’s health. Our consolidated guidance, developed with the Department for Health and Social Care (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/damp-and-mould-understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-for-rented-housing-providers), assesses this and sets out how landlords should address damp and mould.English Housing Survey (pdf, 609.3KB)Damp and Mould (pdf, 95.2KB)

Rented Housing: Standards

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle the issue of damp and mould in homes with children in (1) the social rented sector, and (2) the private rented sector.

Baroness Penn: Damp and mould can have a serious impact on children’s health and it is unacceptable for anyone to have to live in such conditions.All rented homes must be free of serious ‘category 1’ hazards, including damp and mould, as defined by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. In the social rented sector homes must also meet the Decent Homes Standard. We have recently tabled amendments to the Renters (Reform) Bill to extend the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time. We are exploring the merits of a standalone damp and mould standard within the Decent Homes Standard that all landlord must meet, to ensure that landlords are clear on their obligations to tenants.Following the tragic and avoidable death of Awaab Ishak, the Government has also introduced Awaab’s Law in the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. Awaab’s Law will require social landlords to comply with new requirements regarding timeframes for investigating and repairing hazards, including damp and mould.

Cybersecurity: Cheltenham

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they took before committing funding to the Golden Valley Cyber Centre in Cheltenham to ensure that job opportunities arising from the creation of that centreare accessible to individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Baroness Penn: On 20 November the Government announced that the third round of the Levelling Up Fund will invest £1 billion in 55 projects across the length and breadth of the country. The Golden Valley Cyber Centre is one such bid, receiving up to £20 million of Levelling Up Funding.For the third and final round of the fund, projects were drawn from the list of robustly assessed bids submitted in round 2. The bid identified significant jobs and investment to the local area, demonstrating commitments to social value and ensuring benefits would be felt across the community. We look forward to working with all round 3 projects, to ensure delivery of these benefits can get underway as quickly as possible.

Levelling Up Fund: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what the difference was in circumstances between the announcement of Round 2 of Levelling Up Funding in the Spring Statement on 23 March 2022, and the announcement of Round 3 of Funding, with regard to the exclusion of allocations of funding for Northern Ireland, given that there was no functioning devolved government on either occasion.

Baroness Penn: In Northern Ireland, the Government is not proceeding with this round of the Levelling Up Fund at this time. In the context of the growing pressure on NI budgets it is right that UK Government should consider its approach to funding available for NI in the round. £30 million has been reserved for Northern Ireland from LUF 3. As part of our commitment to levelling up, we want to work with a restored Executive to find the best approach to supporting people in Northern Ireland, taking account of current budget pressures.We will continue to work closely with projects and places in Northern Ireland that were awarded a total of £120 million in the first two rounds of the Fund and work with stakeholders on how best to level up communities in Northern Ireland.

Homelessness

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address homelessness and alleviate the financial strain on affected councils.

Baroness Penn: Government is committed to ending rough sleeping and reducing homelessness and is spending £2 billion over 2022-25 on this, including £1 billion in England via Homelessness Prevention Grant to help local authorities prevent homelessness and provide temporary accommodation. Government is increasing Local Housing Allowance to the 30th percentile of market rents from April and announced a further £120 million to help councils across UK address Ukraine and homelessness pressures in 2024/25.Over the last three spending reviews, local government has seen real terms increases in Core Spending Power, and an injection of £5.1 billion last year, of which £3.1 billion was provided through central government grant. This year’s Local Government Finance Settlement will increase resources available to councils, on which we will set out more detail later this year. We recognise the challenges some face, and encourage any local authority with specific concerns about its ability to manage its budgets to come forward.

Pension Funds: Regulation

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government, in relation to clause 12(2) of the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, what decisions about the management of an asset of a pension fund are not covered by decisions about the acquisition, retention or disposal of an asset of a pension fund.

Baroness Penn: The Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill only applies in relation to Local Government Pension Scheme funds when scheme managers are making an investment decision. Scheme managers are defined by statute and are predominately local authorities. A fund investment decision is defined in the Bill as a decision about the acquisition, management, retention, or disposal of an asset. Clause 1 does not apply to any decision that is not made by a scheme manager, nor any decision that falls outside of this definition.

Local Plans

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to publish the new National Planning Policy Framework; and what assessment they have made of the impactof any delay in its publicationon the production of local plans.

Baroness Penn: Government is clear that it expects plan making to continue as we move towards the new system, following royal assent of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. As part of that we are closely monitoring those areas that have failed to keep plans up to date.We intend to publish updates to the National Planning Policy Framework later in 2023 and are carefully considering how the changes should be implemented to encourage and support different authorities to progress their plans to adoption.

Department for Education

Apprentices

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government how many apprenticeship starts there were in 2022–23 on the level 7 Senior leader standard; what estimate they have made of the total cost of off-the-job training for level 7 Senior Leader apprentices in 2022–23; and what proportion of this expenditure was for apprentices employed by levy-paying employers, and so set against their levy.

Baroness Barran: Starts on the Level 7 Senior Leader apprenticeship standard account for 1.8% of all apprenticeship starts. Provisional figures for the 2022/23 full academic year show 6,110 apprenticeship starts on the standard.Total spend on the Senior Leader standard in 2022/23 was £67 million. This covers the costs of apprenticeship training and assessment, as well as any additional payments to employers and training providers.91% of this spend was for Senior Leader apprentices in levy-paying employers.

Department for Business and Trade

Small Businesses: Retail Trade

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what stepsthey are taking to mitigate the effects on small businesses caused by recent declines in retail sales across the UK.

Lord Offord of Garvel: Government recognises the pressures faced by small businesses. In his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced a business rates support package worth £4.3 billion over the next five years to support small businesses and the high street. The small business multiplier will be frozen for a fourth consecutive year, and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief will be extended, ensuring the most vulnerable businesses continue to be supported. Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) is available to businesses with a single property below a set rateable value. Eligible properties under £12,000 will receive 100 per cent relief, which means around a third of businesses in England (713,000) pay no business rates at all. There is also tapered support available to properties valued up to £15,000. This is a tax cut worth over £2.1 billion per year to support the smallest businesses. Additionally, support to households to help with cost-of-living pressures is worth £104 billion over 2022-23 to 2024-25, or £3,700 per household on average.